They work together as a team to stop villains who threaten to wipe out humanity. Spoiler alert – they actually do in the end.

They don’t get paid to do these things; just the feeling of happiness knowing they’ve served humanity, is enough.

See a pattern? There are Avengers right amongst us! You don’t need to go to a movie theatre to see them. Here are the 5 avengers heroes you will find, or need, for your startup.

1. Captain

Okay, he might not be the strongest (when it comes to skill sets) among the avengers, nor the one with all the cool gadgets or money, but captain is good at one thing, “captaining”. A born leader, captain usually takes the reins and guides the team from one adventure to the next. He manages team efforts, assigns tasks to people based on their strengths, is calm but assertive, and always plans the bigger picture.

Who is the captain in your startup?

Look closely and your CEO might just have all these qualities, plus the uncanny ability to spot risks and opportunities. He need not be good with coding or numbers, but he will almost always know how to “get things done” by the right people.

So look to your captain for inspiration; and, if he doesn’t inspire you, maybe you should jump teams, or change the Captain!!

2. Iron Man

Tony Stark might be richer than all the Avengers combined, and that’s probably because he has a giant-sized brain. Making a flying, rocket firing, beam shooting contraption is not an easy task, but Stark makes it looks like child’s play. He built his first suit while being captive in a cage (while the rest of us find it difficult to even make fire without gas).

So why do you need Tony Stark on your team?

In the early stages of a startup, a good quality product will make your company stand out, and building a good product needs a solid engineering team. These guys are the ones who know the ins and outs of the workings of your app or website (better than everyone else). They have the passion to succeed and the ability to think outside the box. They need not have great people skills like the captain, but they should atleast be able to build and test and see your product through.

So go ahead, hire the queer full stack developer who insists on bringing his cat to work.

3. Black widow

No team is complete without the presence of a strong female character, and the same is true with the avengers. Natasha Romanov brings the much needed balance to the team and acts as the voice of reason in times of crisis. She is the Captain’s go-to person, and although she may not be strong like the Hulk or be able to fly like Iron Man, she is a deadly assassin who is the best at what she does-kicking a**.

Although universally, startups are seen as male dominated territory, I cannot help stress the importance of having female presence in your early team. They provide a whole new perspective for many problems, are usually more creative than their male counterparts, and can help make your startup more gender-equal.

Kick away black widow, kick away!

4. Thor

This avenger is the one with dramatic entrance, who literally brings charm to the entire team. Thor can fly, has a cool hammer that only he can use, and has a quirky dress sense that makes him look like he’s stepped out of a Shakespearean play. In one word, Thor has personality, and that’s the one quality your Marketing Head needs.

Your marketing person breathes life into your team, business and product, and should have ideas that will make your brand propel upwards. The ideal marketer is well rounded (like Thor), has travelled a lot and seen many places (like Thor) and has a hammer of a voice that only he can wield with conviction (again, like Thor). He has to work well in a team and have strong presence. A quirky sense of humour is not a necessity, but definitely a plus. He might also have a crazy half brother whose life mission is to destroy the avengers, but not everything shows up in background checks!

Just make sure your marketer has strong personality and a voice that’s original.

5. The Hulk

The strongest person on the team without any doubt, Hulk is trained to focus on just one thing. Smash things. His alter ego, Dr. Bruce Banner, is a brilliant physicist who helps Tony Stark in all things tech. So who is that Dr. Bruce Banner/ Green Monster combo on your team who has enormous potential but also can get the basics right when needed?

The answer? Interns.

That’s right, young fresh minds have a lot of untapped potential. It is up to the Captain, and the entire team, to nurture these young minds and help them unleash their full potential. Interns in your startup need to be highly self-motivated to cope up with challenges of a startup, and yet they must also have the potential to turn into rockstars and get things done when needed. Stay away from those who have anger issues like Hulk.

There you go. These are the 5 kinds of Avengers you need in your startup. Honourable mentions include Hawkeye, Black Panther, Dr Strange, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, but we don’t want our startups to be too crowded 🙂